PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In the wake of finding two dead bodies, rumors about multiple violent attacks on women have been spreading like wildfire.

Police say they have been "inundated" with phone calls asking for information. The rumors, apparently being spread over the Internet, insinuate that there is an outbreak of violent crime and the police have requested federal assistance. That information is false and has no factual basis, police said.

"We believe these rumors are the result of speculation surrounding the recent discoveries of two bodies in the city. The first occurred in February in Canoe Meadows and the second last week in a wooded area off of West

PITTSFIELD, Mass - The body of 49-year-old Virginia May Brown turned up in a wooded area behind St. Mark School.

Brown was reported missing in January after her landlord found the door of her apartment and nobody home. She was last seen in the city on Jan. 7.
She was found Friday afternoon and an autopsy was performed Sunday at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Boston by Kimberly Springer, according to police.
Police do not suspect foul play and an official cause of death has not yet been determined pending the outcome of toxicology and further testing.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The body of a woman found Wednesday, Feb. 23, in Canoe Meadows wildlife sanctuary has been identified as Beverly Tanner, 57.

Tanner, whose last known address was on North Street, had not been seen since early January. Police say she was not reported missing.

The body was reportedly found by a couple of snowshoers off Wolf Pine Trail in the 262-acre sanctuary. It was fully dressed, frozen and partially covered with snow. A backpack was next to it. The death is being investigated but Detective Capt. Patrick F. Barry told The Berkshire Eagle on last week that foul play was not suspected.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Police say they recovered the body of an elderly man who they believe is 61-year-old Francis Rocca, an Alzheimer’s patient who left his Francis Avenue home on July 13.

Police said the body was discovered early Thursday afternoon with the help of a specially trained corpse-sniffing dog in a heavily wooded area off Turner Avenue near the west branch of the Housatonic River.

Police were waiting for an official ID on the body but based on clothing and jewelry found on the body, investigators believe the dead man is Rocca. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday at the state medical examiner's office in Holyoke. Police say the death does not appear